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#InternationalWomensDay

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

I am probably part of the vast majority that think that this should be a celebration spanning 365 (or rather, 366 for this year) days rather than splitting the bill with National Pancake Day, but there's probably that one person who says we're lucky enough to have a day at all. Sigh. But today isn't about them! Well, not entirely. It's somewhat about proving them wrong, but mostly about how kick-a$$ women are.

I'm not sure if other people think about this as frequently as I do, but sometimes I stop thinking about Harry Styles for .2 seconds and instead replace those thoughts with the sudden realization of how many awesome women I'm surrounded by on a daily basis. I mean, I live with two insanely smart and driven girls right now, so that's two people I see every day who are #KillingIt. I work on an entirely female staff in a business founded by a #GirlBoss. The customers who come in an shop just extend the list, a constant inspiration to get out there are do something. Another one of my bosses started her own business when she was only a few years older than I am now. And that's just in Cleveland, where I know next to no one. The list expands exponentially when I am home and surrounded by my family.

There are multiple facets to feminism, I believe. I don't want to say that there are right and wrong ways to support the feminist cause, but I think it's extremely important to understand that picking and choosing who and what you support isn't exactly an option. We must support each other, no matter what: no matter our skin color, no matter the body we were born in, no matter our disabilities, no matter our occupations, no matter our sexual preferences, no matter what we decide to post about ourselves on the internet, no matter what.

#GirlPower is sweet and adorable, but cannot be absent in time when women need us the most, when there's such harsh consequences to being a female in other countries, even in our own country. The disparity between women in entertainment and the workplace is entirely all too real, but so is the way that women of color are treated unjustly on a daily (more like hourly) basis and portrayed in the media, how transgender women are constantly belittled and treated as less then (or worse, not treated as women at all), and how there are places where women's rights might as well be nonexistent.

Feminism is not an exclusive club or "squad." It is an all inclusive movement fighting toward equality, not misandry. Feminists do not hate men, they do not think that female are the superior species; feminists want equality for all, no matter what, without double standards or crimes against females strictly for being female or denying advances. It is a movement toward getting the same treatment for women of color, women of various sexual orientations, trans-women, and anything in-between.

Today is the day to celebrate all women and their accomplishments, even if that accomplishment is merely living in a society with an unjust system. Happy International Women's Day to all. I hope it's the absolute best.